Liberal internationalism: from ideology to empirical theory – and back again

Jahn, Beate

doi:10.1017/s1752971909000141

Cited by 26 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…Implicit in the work of critics of Harvard School liberalism such as Long (1995) and Jahn (2009) is the idea that if developing liberal explanatory theories entails complying with Harvard School liberals' methodological injunctions, then the endeavour is best abandoned. This idea should be resisted, for it effectively concedes methodological hegemony over explanatory theory in IR to the Harvard School.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

What Should We Expect of a Liberal Explanatory Theory?

Humphreys¹

2012

Journal of International Political Theory

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One of the most problematic aspects of the 'Harvard School' of liberal international theory is its failure to fulfil its own methodological ideals. Although Harvard School liberals subscribe to a nomothetic model of explanation, in practice they employ their theories as heuristic resources. Given this practice, we should expect them neither to develop candidate causal generalizations nor to be value-neutral: their explanatory insights are underpinned by valueladen choices about which questions to address and what concepts to employ. A key question for liberal theorists, therefore, is how a theory may be simultaneously explanatory and value-oriented. The difficulties inherent in resolving this problem are manifested in Ikenberry's writing: whilst his work on constitutionalism in international politics partially fulfils the requirements of a more satisfactory liberal explanatory theory, his recent attempts to develop prescriptions for US foreign policy reproduce, in a new form, key failings of Harvard School realism.In 1995, David Long called for the closure of what he termed the 'Harvard School of Liberal International Theory'. He coined this term to denote efforts by scholars such as Robert Keohane and Andrew Moravcsik, then based at Harvard, to develop a liberal theory that would subsume or supersede (neo)realism. 1 Long (1995: 489-91, 501) welcomed attempts to 'frame liberalism' as an 'explanatory theory', but criticized Harvard School liberals for borrowing 'a number of normative, ontological, and methodological premises' from realism. He argued that this stifled the prospects for a renewal of liberalism's

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

What Should We Expect of a Liberal Explanatory Theory?

Humphreys¹

2012

Journal of International Political Theory

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“…By these 'rationalist' accounts, it was not communism but self-interest that motivated the Soviets. Furthermore, it was not a global genuflection before this or that ideology that would bring order to the world, as the conflict between the Communists and Capitalists suggested, but the rather more mundane claim that 'institutions matter' (Keohane and Martin 1995) in helping interests align (Jahn 2009).…”

Section: Alex Prichardmentioning

confidence: 99%

International Relations Theory

Hoskins¹

2021

The Oxford Handbook of Reinhold Niebuhr

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The study of international relations is dominated by the school of Realism, articulated in its classical form by Hans Morgenthau. It teaches that great powers are focused on enhancing their national interest defined in terms of power: military, political, and economic. Reinhold Niebuhr became known as the father of Christian Realism, adding his own biblical and Augustinian insights about human nature and its effects on the evil uses of power. Traditionally, both forms of Realism incorporated ethical judgement within their analysis. After Niebuhr’s death, Realism became neorealism, a value-free social science which eschews ethical judgement as any part of international relations study, as did the other major schools—except for the English School. This chapter argues that the English School represents the modern paradigm closest to Niebuhr’s perspective.

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“…Many people think of an economic policy strategy when reading the word ‘liberal’. IR scholars attach diverse meanings to this term, ranging from explanatory analysis over positivist empiricism to normative connotations and moral dimensions (for a critique of liberal IR theory, see Humphreys, 2012: 28; Jahn, 2009; Reus-Smit, 2001: 582ff; Sterling-Folker, 2015). Since the societal approach does not intend to engage in debates on normative theory building or economic policy strategies, ‘societal’ appears a better reflection of its goals, namely, theorising a complementary approach to explain the domestic foundations of governmental preferences and analyse the conditions for the relevance of societal ideas, institutions, or interests.…”

Section: Refining Domestic Politics Theories: the Societal Approachmentioning

confidence: 99%

Refining domestic politics theories of IPE: A societal approach to governmental preferences

Schirm

2020

Politics

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Domestic politics theories of international political economy and the recent disruptions in international cooperation and trade apparently induced by domestic discontent have shown the crucial role domestic forces play in influencing governmental preferences. This article contributes to this theoretical school, first, by assessing seminal works on the ideational, material, and institutional dimensions of domestic politics, and second, by conceptualising the ‘societal approach’ to fill a major gap in domestic politics theorising. The societal approach asks under which conditions value-based societal ideas, domestic institutions, and material interests matter in shaping governmental preferences. When do ideas prevail over interests and vice versa? How do they interact with each other and with domestic institutions? The societal approach includes all three domestic variables as potential driving forces for governmental preferences and conceives them both as individual and as interacting forces. Most importantly, it complements domestic politics theories by proposing hypotheses on the conditions for the influence of each variable on governmental preferences. The article brings together previously conceived parts of the societal approach and considerably expands it.

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Liberal internationalism: from ideology to empirical theory – and back again

Cited by 26 publications

References 34 publications

What Should We Expect of a Liberal Explanatory Theory?

What Should We Expect of a Liberal Explanatory Theory?

International Relations Theory

Refining domestic politics theories of IPE: A societal approach to governmental preferences

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